


Wounds that won't heal

by lovestowrite238



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epic Bromance, Episode: s05e11 The Last Chimera, Evil Theo Raeken, Friendship, Hurt, Hurt Scott, Hurt Sheriff, Hurt Sheriff Stilinski, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Bromance, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Scott is a Good Friend, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 01:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6175594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovestowrite238/pseuds/lovestowrite238
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fill-in-the-blanks between Season 5's  5 x 11 The Last Chimera and 5 x 12 Damnaetio Memoriae.</p><p>Stiles is tired of it all. His dad nearly died, he still feels alone and abandoned. But above all, he still feels betrayed.<br/>Scott tries to patch things up, but knows it's not going to be easy getting fully back into Stiles' good books. And above all, his wounds just won't heal.<br/>The hurt and pain between the former best friends still remains a hot topic.<br/>But when Stiles discovers Scott is really hurt, he somehow finds himself taking care of him by himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story by request of a reader who wanted to further explore what happened to Scott's wound after Last Chimera, while everyone was busy with Stiles' father.  
> She wanted a full Bromance exploration and lots of Scott-pain. And as I like a good old Stiles-Whump, I've combined both in this story.  
> This story follows canon, you can basically read it as continuing between the two episodes and still follow the rest of season 5.  
> Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter One**

'Hey kiddo.'

Stiles looks up when Melissa enters his father's room, shaking him out of his light sleep. His dad's hand is still underneath his own and Stiles finds himself clinging onto it still, afraid to let go. The sheriff is in deep sleep, unaware of the fact his son is still by his side.

'It's time you get some proper rest,' she says motherly. 'Why don't you go home and get some sleep? Your dad just received another sedative, he'll be out of it for a while. There's nothing much you can do for now.'

'No, I'm staying,' he replies curtly.

'Stiles, you need to take care of yourself now,' she sooths him, understanding the loneliness he doesn't want to face. She watched him before, stayed with him when he felt abandoned by the rest of the world, by Scott. Stiles, despite his bravery, is the most introvert person of the pack, unable to express his emotions through words when times get rough. His true fears always shine through in his eyes and the small twitches of his face.

'I just want to make sure that he's fine –' Stiles' voice dwindles off, knowing he doesn't want to go home just right now. All he has there, is loneliness. He's used to being alone between the four walls of his house. He loves that place, he cares for it. He has spent many nights in his bed while his dad was at work. He doesn't fear sleeping there alone. He just fears the _loneliness._

'Stiles.' Melissa kneels down until she catches his weary eyes, realizing all too well how very tired he is. The teenager hasn't slept for at least two nights and for all she knows, it could be a whole lot more. He looks like he went to hell and back, portraying every inch of his not so normal life through his gestures. He's currently surviving life itself on a sense of urgency, hidden rage over what had happened to his dad, and adrenaline.

She has seen Stiles confused before, has even sedated him once when he went too far into his mind, but that was different. Then he was not himself. Now, he is. But right now she's also debating of forcing him into a bed, making him sleep so he's capable of releasing some of his stress. But she won't. She's going to try to use reason, to make him see he needs to take care of himself.

'You'll fall apart if you don't start taking care of yourself. I've asked Scott to drive you home. Or, you can stay with us for a while. But either way, you are going to get some sleep, okay?' Her warm, brown eyes that don't take no for an answer, grasp him tight, holding him there until he finally lowers his eyes first, knowing she's absolutely right, but still refusing to give in easily.

'No.' His reply comes softly, almost afraid to say it out loud, as if he's afraid to hurt her feelings. Stiles knows that usually there's no point arguing with Melissa, that she ultimately always wins. He knows that she knows about the past couple of days and all the events that lead to this moment.

She knows about the tilted jeep and the smoke he inhaled, after being knocked out roughly by Parrish. She knows about the fight standing outside the animal clinic he had with Scott. She's aware of the breakup with Malia, his fight with Theo.

He knows Melissa's absolutely right, he _should_ get some sleep. But not at Scott's place, not when their relationship hasn't improved, when it still isn't what it used to be. The pain of betrayal still tugs too hard at his heart, even if he knows he too is partially responsible for it. If he had confided in Scott immediately after it happened, things might not have turned out this bad. But if he had, he might also have been kicked out of the pack sooner. Would it have made a difference?

'Stiles.' Melissa breaks his thoughts into half. 'You need to start trusting people again.'

He looks at her with wonder in his eyes. He knows she wants him to turn to Scott, as he would have done six months ago. But right now, she doesn't seem to realize that their friendship is over. Because, no matter what Scott did to make it better, Stiles hasn't been able to forgive him yet for his words that night. And it wasn't just the words, it was also the lack of trust, the way he stared at him. Scott came to help him out of guilt over his dad's attack. Yet, at this moment, he still believes Stiles killed Donovan on purpose. He hasn't told him otherwise yet.

Gently he shrugs Melissa's hand off. 'If I can't stay here, I'll go home by myself.'

Melissa sighs, knowing all too well what went on between Stiles and Scott. She knows, because Scott told her about Donovan, explaining to her what Theo had said. And she had listened in shock, wondering what had happened to her child over the past few weeks. The Scott she knew, would never had thought this. Stiles is the brother he never had, the most important person in his life, perhaps even more so than his mother. She had seen the despair in Scott's eyes when Stiles had been possessed. She had felt his fear when he came to realize he would lose him then.

The Scott she raised, would never have believed Theo. But then, there was so much going on in Beacon Hills, she couldn't blame him for accepting this as truth.

'Scott,' she had reprimanded gently, while dressing his wounds right after Theo's attack. 'How in the world could you have believed Theo over Stiles? That kid has been your best friend forever, he's done so much for you, has always put himself in the line of fire for you. Have you forgotten that he's only human? Have you considered this was self-defence? Would you have rather had that Chimera kill him first?'

Her words pierced him as knife and the Alpha knew of course she was absolutely right.

'I don't know, mom,' Scott had replied in tears, remembering Stiles' shocked face when he told him to go talk to his dad. 'It was all so messed up. The Chimera's, the Dread Doctors, Theo coming between us without us even realizing it. My inhaler – he did something to it, took away my strength, filled it with wolfs bane and I didn't even know. And then there was Liam, freaking out over Hayden. I felt guilty because I couldn't save her. He was so fucked up, mom. I had so much to deal with, and all this time I had no clue what was going on with Stiles. He never showed me.'

'Or you didn't want to see.'

'I –' Scott stopped, realizing she was right. He was so used to Stiles taking care of himself, of their lives running parallel at times, he hadn't considered once the dangers his best friend often faced.

'He must have been so lonely,' Melissa whispered, wrapping bandages around Scott's chest, covering the gruesome wound, wondering at the same time why he wouldn't heal. The wound was deep, but he had gone through worse before. She didn't understand.

Her words shocked Scott. She had said before that he could get them back, that he had to give them hope. But what if he couldn't? What if he had ruined it all? What if Stiles wouldn't accept his silent apologies?

He had to go see Stiles, to explain and tell him he was sorry. But he couldn't, not just like that. He was too afraid to lose him. The repair of the pack started with the one who meant the most to him. Only after that, could he overcome himself.

Melissa had left her son alone at home when the call came in about a vicious attack on Stilinski. She hadn't told Scott when she drove off, knowing her son had his own problems. And she was scared that she would arrive at the hospital and find a gravely injured sheriff there, perhaps already dead. She wasn't sure Scott could face that bad news at that moment, not when he had just died himself.

The rest of that night turned out to be hellish.

When she spotted Stiles, standing alone and oh so devastated at the reception, she took charge and helped him, forgetting about Scott for a brief moment to focus on her surrogate son. She loved Stiles almost as much as she loved Scott. When he freaked out when they couldn't figure out what was killing his dad, she couldn't blame him either. She knew he needed help from his friends, even if he refused any help, and so she called Scott.

And then Scott brought Lydia in and it all went straight to a deeper hell, even worse than ever before. Scott helped Stiles find the Chimera, despite Stiles persistence he didn't need him. They never truly spoke about it, Scott handled it awkwardly, not knowing what he truly had to say to patch things up.

Later on, Scott would tell his mom that Stiles had blacked out a couple of times. When Stiles rushed back in to find his father had just gotten out of surgery, she had examined him, despite his own refusal. Only when she was satisfied he probably didn't have a serious concussion, did she allow him to sit with his father. He fell asleep at his father's bedside and she kept coming in, keeping a close eye on him.

She learned the whole story from Scott who told her about the Chimera who had attacked the sheriff, while Stiles still slept at his father's side. She was relieved to find out Stiles had allowed Scott to help, albeit reluctantly.

'Did you patch things up between the two of you?' she asked casually as they waited at the desk for more news on the sheriff. 'Did you talk?'

Scott just shrugged. 'I don't know.'

His reply came back as negative to her. She knew Scott wasn't the best talker and would not find the right words to talk to Stiles. She knows that Stiles needs it though, he needs to hear from his best friend that he understands why he had killed Donovan, that he has been forgiven.

Melissa knows, looking at Stiles tired and pale features as he struggles with her order to get some rest, she has to do something to give these two a push into the right direction.

'Stiles, I'm not saying this again. You are not going home alone,' she persists. 'You're in no state to drive like this anyhow. Scott will take you home, he's been waiting for hours. Please grant him the courtesy of helping you out.'

'He helped find the Chimera, that's enough,' Stiles mumbles, angrily rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'That's as far as it goes, as far as I'm concerned. Don't you have a bed around here I could use for a couple of hours?'

'How long are you going to play the angry card?' Melissa asks quietly, leaning forward. 'This isn't you, Stiles.' She holds her breath then, remembering what he was like when possessed. She had said the exact same thing and the Void-version of him had retorted, _'It is now.'_

She knows that Stiles remembers that moment, albeit trapped within himself, unable to stop the demon inside of him to talk like that. He smiles wearily and then shrugs. 'This is me is now, Melissa. This is what became of me when Scott chose to believe Theo.'

'He was wrong, Stiles. He knows that and he regrets it so very much. But you should have told him about Donovan. You know that.'

Stiles holds his breath as it's pretty obvious now his secret is out in the open. He eyes his sleeping father who doesn't know the truth yet, and then steps outside the room with her, staring at her in shock.

'Yes, I know about Donovan and I can take a pretty good guess at what happened at the library,' she whispers in the hospital hallway. 'My guess is that boy tried to kill you and you accidently killed him in self-defence. And then you beat yourself up over it, believing you would lose Scott as a friend because he doesn't believe in killing. How close am I?'

Stiles holds his breath. 'Scott thinks I bashed his head in with a wrench.'

'Did you?'

'No!'

Melissa smiles. 'Of course not, because that isn't you. You are not like that, Stiles, even though a part of you insists on believing you still have some void left in you. Or perhaps it's others who want to make you believe that you have. Whatever happened that day, you are not to blame. That boy was a Chimera, he was strong and wanted to get back at your dad. He was filled with revenge, strengthened by it.'

'Yeah.' Stiles closes his eyes, shivering at the memory of Donovan's death. He remembers his loneliness, his fear to tell anyone, the fear of losing his friends.

'Scott was influenced by Theo,' Melissa says gently.

'Yeah, he was. We all were. But he should have known better. He should have trusted me.' Stiles' voice broke. 'He should have believed in me.'

'Are you not able to forgive him, or yourself?'

Stiles holds his breath a second time, confessing for the first time out loud what he had already known for a long time. 'Both, but mostly myself. I can't forgive myself.'

'Then tell him that, Stiles. And let him help you.' Melissa gently rubs the arms of the tired teenager in front of her. 'He's your best friend. You two were always inseparable. Don't let that kid come between you.'

'He already did. Lately something's been off.'

'Then get it back on again. You need to get your ducks in a row, Stiles. You need to regroup the pack. You need to help together. Only then can you help everyone else, mostly Lydia.'

'I –' Stiles stops. 'I'm not the leader of the pack, Melissa. That's Scott's job.'

'Aren't you?' Melissa raises an eyebrow. 'Maybe you're not the strongest one, but you're the glue that holds it all together. The brains behind the operation, Batman's Robin, remember?' She grins slightly. 'Do I need to go on?'

Stiles smiles slowly. 'You make a good speech, Melissa.'

'I know,' she retorts. 'Now go to Scott and talk to him. Go home with him, talk to him properly and get some sleep. I'll call you if there's any change.'

Stiles nods, wandering off in the hallway of Beacon Memorial, in search of Scott.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments!   
> Since I already wrote the entire story, I'll be posting daily. ;)

**Chapter 2**

Scott leans tiredly back in the plastic chair, his entire body feeling the aches of the past couple of days. Everything hurts from head to toe. It's been a long time since he felt like this. He feels like a regular human again, a person who gets hurt like everyone else. He doesn't like what that feels like.

The wound underneath his T-shirt and bandages hurts too. He doesn't understand why it won't heal. He remembers that one time he thought Derek had died, when he felt so guilty he couldn't heal. This feels like that exact moment, as if he's gone back in time. So much has happened since then. Everything's changed. Beacon Hills has become an open invitation for supernatural enemies, because they sacrificed themselves.

It all comes back to them. Allison is dead, Stiles has been in danger for many times since then, having nearly lost his senses and his life too. And there he is, the true Alpha who can't keep his pack together.

He feels guilty over all of them. Over the fact he wasn't there to save Lydia from Theo. Over the determination Malia feels on killing her mother. Over Kira's departure, Liam's attack on him. But mostly, he feels guilty over Stiles. He has wronged Stiles, he knows that all too well. But he doesn't know how to fix it.

He still can't believe he actually thought Stiles was capable of cold-blooded murder. He was distracted, upset and very troubled by everything going on. And yet that's no excuse. Stiles is his best friend and brother. He was once his whole world, the only friend he ever had. Back then, nobody cared about him. He was a nobody at high school, unnoticed and invisible.

But Stiles was always there for him, through thick and thin, even when he was a new werewolf and tried to kill him several times. No matter what, his best friend has never let him down, endangering himself over and over again.

But lately, there had been a lot of anger in Stiles too. And he now knows it all leads back to Theo's arrival. That kid sets something off in Stiles, as if he's pulling some buttons his best friend doesn't even know he has. Theo knows perfectly how to act and react, how to pull people's chain. He has been doing it to all of them. And it nearly cost them a lot of lives.

He should have known better, but he didn't and he's paying the price for that now. He doesn't know how to deal with Stiles. He knows the sheriff will be okay. And now what? He sighs deeply, his body aching so badly he feels he just wants to collapse right there and then. But he won't. He'll stay here, until Stiles -

'Scott?'

He looks up, staring into Stiles' concerned eyes. Immediately Scott sits upright, not wanting to show his physical weakness. He's surprised, almost shocked that Stiles would stand here before him and talk to him voluntarily.

'I - Your mom told me to go home, but the jeep has been towed away and my dad's car ran out of gas. I barely made it to the parking lot. Could you give me a ride home? Your mom gave me her car keys.' He opens his hand and shows Melissa's keys.

Scott instantly stands, his eyes trying to catch Stiles', but his best friend looks away nervously, fiddling with his fingers like he does whenever he's feeling guilty or very nervous.

'Sure,' he says light-heartedly, despite his nausea, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about the fact Stiles asked for his help.

'Good,' Stiles replies, waiting for Scott to stand. It doesn't escape the human that the alpha is pretty much in bad shape, but he doesn't say anything about it. Together they walk towards the elevators. Stiles pushes the button while Scott stands awkwardly next to him, counting down inside his head until the doors slide open and they get in.

Stiles doesn't say a single word during the short elevator ride, nor does he comment when Stiles hands him the car keys and waits until the werewolf unlocks the car. Scott makes a slight sound as he slides in behind the steering wheel. Stiles gets in next to him, calmly waiting for the alpha to start the engine and reverse out of the parking lot.

'Your house or mine?' Scott asks, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

Stiles wants to remain stubborn and say, _just mine_. But he doesn't. He's afraid of the loneliness, for one. He also fears Theo might return, and this time he might not be so lucky. And he just doesn't want to be alone right now. At the hospital, there were strangers all around him, yet it felt he was never always alone.

Scott looks at him pleadingly but not begging. He wants to be forgiven but is unable to say it out loud. He probably will never be able to do so. It's not in his nature to ask, partially out of shame, partially because he's too eager to get that forgiveness he so desperately craves.

Stiles finds himself softening up, remembering how Scott had grasped his hand while blacking out, his voice extremely troubled when he thought Stiles was seriously hurt. He is still the old Scott. In the past he has made mistakes too, they all have. Nobody is perfect, _all_ of them are human.

'Yours,' he blurts out before he can change his mind.

Scott can't stop the smile on his face when he realizes he stands a small chance of getting this sorted out with Stiles. For one long moment, he feels like they're themselves again. He waits for Stiles to quip or make a funny remark, but he doesn't. Scott knows Stiles is too tired, too upset and the situation has been too dire. But he misses him so badly it physically hurts.

Then the silence returns and the moment is gone. Stiles sit very quietly next to Scott, his tired eyes focused on the road. He almost falls asleep right there and then, his head lingering against the comfortable car seat. Now that he is out of the hospital, he feels every single moment of tiredness hit him hard. His head pounds, but he isn't about to tell Scott that. He has stubbornly refused to acknowledge it has been like that ever since he fell backwards on the staircase, hitting his head hard and blacking out.

Scott drives in silence while his mind goes everywhere and nowhere. Tonight has been the master of all crazy nights out here in Beacon Hills, and he has this scared feeling there might be more to come. He's afraid of what the Dread Doctors are about to pull next. If Theo is right and this is just the beginning, they'll up for a rough ride. And Scott doesn't know at this point in time if he's up for that. He's actually terrified he might never be. He's not strong enough anymore, perhaps he never was. Perhaps he needs to redeem himself. Perhaps he needs to come to terms with the fact he's alone without his pack.

'Stop thinking so much,' Stiles murmurs sleepily next to him. 'It'll be fine.'

Scott smiles as he comes to realize Stiles does care. Not that he had ever thought differently. A shooting pain goes right through Scott's chest and he gasps slightly as he realizes he's passing out.

'Stiles –' As his eyes droop, Scott suddenly pulls the steering wheel roughly, making the car swerve off the road, heading directly towards another car innocently staying on its right line. Stiles reacts immediately and looks aside at Scott who is slumped over the steering wheel, beads of sweat lingering over his face. His entire expression is one of sharp pain shooting right through him, killing him.

Scott's foot is still on the pedal, pushing down as he tries to keep control but fails to do so. Stiles frantically pushes Scott backwards, prying his cramped fingers loose as he pulls on the steering wheel himself, right on time to avoid a collision with the other car. Heart beating in his throat, Stiles realizes instantly they are in trouble.

Scott lets go of the gas pedal as the car slows down, but not quick enough to stop before they might hit someone else.

'Scott, put your foot on the brakes. Scott, can you hear me?' Stiles roughly shakes his friend's shoulder, getting Scott to react. After a second or so, the wolf instinctively does what Stiles orders him to do, listening to Stiles' voice as he has done so many times before.

'That's it,' Stiles sooths. 'Good job, Scott. Just keep pushing the brakes and we'll be fine.'

The car slows down fast now as Stiles steers it to the side of the road, where it comes to a safe stand still. Tiredly Scott lingers back, resting his head against his seat. He feels like crap. Stiles frantically touches Scott's forehead, only to find him running a very high fever. The wolf is barely able to open his eyes.

'Jesus Christ, you're burning up,' Stiles murmurs. 'I didn't even know werewolves could do that. What's wrong, Scott? Talk to me, man. Tell me what is going on.'

Scott doesn't say a single word as he rests his head backwards, too exhausted to say anything. Forgetting his own pounding headache and a sense of pure panic, Stiles focuses on his sick friend, pulling up his T-shirt, only to find he's bleeding through the bandages once more. Since his shirt had already been stained, Stiles hadn't thought of it getting worse, but it is.

'Shit,' Stiles curses, knowing all too well they're in trouble. The last time Scott wouldn't heal, Allison became his anchor and saved him. But she's gone and Kira is hundreds of miles away.

'Stiles, it hurts,' Scott gasps, his hand aiming towards his chest. 'It's never felt like this before.'

'Why isn't it healing, Scott? Tell me what do to,' Stiles asks frantically.

'I don't know,' Scott mumbles confused. 'It feels like I'm dying all over again.'

'Did he poison you?'

'I don't know.' Scott bites his tongue when another sharp pain cuts him in half. He grabs Stiles' hand, almost squeezing his fingers to a pulp. Stiles lets out an audible gasp as he tries to pry himself loose from his strong friend. Scott finally gets it and lets go.

'Crap,' Stiles mutters under his breath, realizing he's out here in the middle of the night with a dying werewolf, without an inkling of how to save him. Deaton's still gone, so he can't ask for help. And he definitely can't take him back to the hospital either.

Frantically he grasps his phone to call Melissa, reaching her voicemail. He calls again, twice, three times, until she finally picks up and listens shocked to what Stiles explains.

'It's bad, Melissa,' he blurts out, his eyes focusing on Scott. 'I don't know what to do.'

'How far are you from our house?'

'I can see it,' Stiles replies, 'I can get him there.'

'Good. I'll be there as soon as I can, Stiles,' Melissa replies, 'but I need a ride and it's a mad house out here.' Melissa's fear shines through her voice. 'You'll find all sorts of medication in the cabinet in the bathroom upstairs. Get him whatever medicine you can to fight that fever and refresh the bandages. I'll be there in half an hour max, okay?'

'Just hurry,' Stiles begs frantically.

'Stiles, listen to me. You can do this, okay? You can take care of Scott. He needs you right now, st ay strong and brave. You are the brains, remember?'

Stiles nods.

'Stiles? Are you still there?'

'Yeah,' he replies, scraping his throat as he rubs his tired eyes. 'I'll take care of him.'

She hangs up before he can say anything else. Stiles stares from the phone to Scott to the house that is only a few yards away and takes deep breaths as he switches off the engine and pats Scott's cheek.

'Scott, we have to move,' he says, for a moment forgetting all that has happened. Scott came through in the end, he helped save his dad. And he will be able to hold on. He always does. Stiles can't even start to explain what he feels right now, but it almost feels as if Scott is dying again, just like he said. And it scares Stiles to no extend. He can't lose his best friend like this, not in this stupid, unnecessary way.

Frantically, Stiles realizes he has no help to deal with Scott. He has to do this alone.

And in the end, Theo might end up getting his wish. In the end, Theo might still win.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for the warm comments!

**Chapter 3**

Getting Scott into his home is the easy part, even though he hangs onto him like a heavy sack of potatoes. It's the rest of this situation however, that frightens Stiles to no extend. He usually passes out by the sight of blood, he can't even stand a bloody paper cut. He vomits when someone gets injured so badly, skin get shredded and muscles are torn. He's usually the one left with the taste of bile lingering down his throat.

Even though he knows that wolves already heal quickly, the sight of someone being hurt, still tightens his chest. The image of this being Scott, scares him even more. He needs someone else in here, but there's no one. He swallowed his pride and called Malia, but she hasn't returned his call yet. She's probably asleep, like everyone else.

'It's freaking four am in the morning,' Stiles mutters as he struggles with Scott's deadweight hanging onto him. Stiles is not the strongest of the pack, but he's not that weak either, even when he's dead tired like he is right now. He manages to get Scott on the couch, the wound's fresh blood now spilling down the entire bandaged area of this abdomen and upper chest. He's bleeding like crazy, the wound opening again.

'Oh god,' Stiles mutters, totally unprepared for what waits beneath those bandages. 'What do I do? Scott, you have got to help me, man, seriously. How do I deal with this?' He gently shakes his friend, trying to get him to wake up.

Scott finally opens his eyes, but he doesn't say a single word. He just lies very quietly on the couch, his eyes open but blindly staring at Stiles. He sees right through them. Stiles bites back his own pain, almost wishing he had followed his own senses and had stayed by his father's bedside. He's constantly fighting back bile, struggling against the fatigue that actually hurts his neck and shoulders. He wants to scream out loud, shout to the gods above that they should stop picking on Beacon Hills for once.

Instead, he regains his senses and focuses on his unmoving friend who probably looks just as pale as he usually does.

'You always say pain triggers a counter effect. Do you want me to hit you? Because I wouldn't mind that one little bit, you know. It would actually serve you right at this point,' Stiles mutters. 'At least now you know what it's like to be human for once.'

'I heard that,' Scott whispers, his eyes opening as he looks at Stiles. Despite his situation, the wolf grins faintly. 'Glad to hear you haven't lost your sense of humour underneath that hard exterior you bear these days.'

'I wasn't actually kidding,' Stiles mutters, leaning over to watch Scott's eyes droop shut again. 'Hey, stay with me, Scott, don't you dare pass out. Tell me what to do, okay? How can I heal you, stop this?' He squeezes Scott's arm tightly, pressing his fingers into the alpha's flesh. Instantly Scott gasps and opens his eyes once more.

'Good, now focus and help me help you,' Stiles orders. 'What do I do? How can I fix this? How do we trigger your healing?'

'You can't,' Scott whispers. 'Theo's only partially a werewolf, he's also partially coyote and god knows what else. Must be something in his genes –'

'Oh god,' Stiles reacts, suddenly realizing the whole, crazy truth. That, which had been underneath their noses for so long, but what all of them had refused to see. 'He's a Chimera too, isn't he?'

'I think he's the first,' Scott whispers. 'And he came here on purpose.'

'But if he is –' Stiles stops, suddenly thinking about everything Theo has said. _I was at the library too, I saw Donovan. I saw what happened._

And he had, he had seen the whole thing, he must have. But if he did, if he were there and didn't react, how did he know Donovan would be there? Unless he knew Stiles had gone to the library in the first place.

'Oh sweet mother of god,' Stiles mutters, rubbing his forehead to get rid of the sharp pain that shoots right through him. 'He set me up. That bastard tried to kill me.'

Scott stares at his friend, realizing what Stiles has just said.

'We will have to deal with him later, Stiles,' Scott whimpers, his hand pushed against his burning chest. 'When we get our pack back.'

Stiles nods, for one moment seeing red of fury as he thinks about Theo's actions. Then he focuses back on the situation at hand, runs up the stairs and starts digging through the cabinet for pain medication and anything that might help Scott. He finds stacks of bandages and disinfection products that he carries downstairs, stumbling wearily on the stairs. He's so very tired, but he can't afford to rest. His adrenaline levels are worn out though. It almost feels like he's back with his dad, fighting for his life. And tomorrow he has to talk to his dad, tell him the truth about Donovan. He had vowed to do so when his dad would be fit enough to hear the whole story.

In the living room, he finds Scott out cold again, beads of sweat lingering on the wolf's forehead. His skin feels hot to the touch, unnaturally so. For one long second Stiles thinks his friend is dead, but then Scott moves and opens his eyes.

'Take this,' Stiles urges, pushing two tablets in Scott's hand while he gets a glass of water. His mind searches for solutions and people who can help. But Liam is partially the cause of this and will not be allowed to help by Scott. Malia still hasn't replied and Kira is too far away. Parrish slips through his mind, but Stiles doesn't know if he's friend or foe yet. And Lydia is in Eichen House, in a catatonic state.

'Hurry up, Melissa,' he mutters quietly as he realizes it's up to him to take care of Scott. Biting back his nausea, Stiles helps Scott to remove his shirt so he can take a better look at his chest. Slowly he peels back the dressing, looking away briefly when he sees the horrible gashes across his chest and abdomen, showing thick patches of scratched and damaged flesh and blood, and the deep protruding wound that still oozes a blackish blood, alongside fresh redness. He remembers Allison had sewed him up once, but like hell he was going to do that.

'Oh god,' Stiles cringes, 'that looks –'

'How bad is it?' Scott asks, trying to take a look.

'It's okay.  Just a tiny little scratch,' Stiles hurries to say, pushing him back down, 'you're going to be fine. I'll take care of it so at least you won't bleed to death. I'll use duct tape if I have to.'

'Stiles, you can't stand blood,' Scott remarks gently.

'Well, it's not exactly blood coming out of there, or it doesn't look like that, anyhow. It's more like oil and I can stand oil. I can pretend you're a machine, a terminator or something like that, and patch you up with tape. I'm good with tape, you know? My jeep is one big tape.' Stiles pulls a face, staring at his best friend's expression that lingers between laughter and horror at the idea of being taped up.

Gently Stiles pulls off all the bandages and throws them in a garbage bin he pulled closer towards the couch. While he fights against the bile rising in his empty stomach, Stiles pours almost an entire bottle of medication on the wound, watching as it hisses on the deepest cut and seeps through the shredded skin. The black ooze-oil thing makes a sizzling sound, as if he's barbecuing.

'Man, you owe me big time,' Stiles mutters, holding the back of his hand against his mouth as he fights off another wave of nausea. He could use some pain relief too, he thinks in between loud heaves. Then he redresses the wound, using a thick stack of white pads that he keeps in place with new bandages.

'There, no tape need,' Stiles mumbles.

Scott seems to feel a bit better after that, closing his eyes as he rests, helped by medication he's no longer used to taking. He hasn't taken anything since he was bitten. Stiles takes his temperature, noticing the fever has gone slightly down. Whatever he's doing, it seems to be working.

Sighing with relief Stiles sinks back on the ground, leaning his back against the couch. For a few brief moments, he closes his eyes, holding Scott's hand in his as a friendly, comforting gesture. The wolf falls asleep, glad to have some rest in between the pain and fever attacks he's been having.

Stiles looks up as a shadow hovers over him, and two strong hands lift him out of his sitting position. He becomes aware all too harshly that they're no longer alone. The enemy has arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for following this story and commenting!

**Chapter Four**

Stiles scrambles up awkwardly, swaying dizzily on his feet as he's thrown back on the ground, his head smacking hard against the tiles. For a moment he lies down dazed, shocked by the sight of Theo hovering over him.

Stiles regains posture immediately when Theo moves towards Scott, his eyes blazing an angry fury. The only human in the room forces himself protectively between the Chimera and the Alpha, realizing Scott is completely out of it and won't able to defend himself.

Theo's gaze betrays he considers finishing the job at hand, getting rid of the Alpha that stands in his way. But the Chimera calms down, his eyes returning to their natural colour when he sees Stiles' anger.

'No,' Stiles almost cries out, 'you can't have him.' Balling his fists, he moves towards Theo. 'You are the cause of this, of all of it. You lost once, don't think I'm going to allow you to harm one more hair on his head. Not after what you've done to us all.'

'Dead, hey Stiles?' Theo grins, his eyes now resting on the human before him. 'You're a pretty good liar. I smelled Scott's scent in those tunnels, long before I even entered them. Or was it only his blood that reeked up the place? When I saw you yesterday, you had me fooled with those big, innocent eyes of yours. For a while there, I thought I had genuinely killed the true Alpha. So you can guess my surprise when I realized he was still out there, probably in your house at the same time I was there too.'

'Are you surprised?' Stiles mocks. 'My dad was the distraction you needed to finish off Scott. Well, guess what? He is not only a true alpha, he's also a true, genuine soul.'

'One that reeks of pity, betrayal and sorrow,' Theo mocks back, his eyes diverting towards Scott with a condescending gaze. 'Don't tell me you're still defending him after all he's done? Poor little human, you still believe in him, don't you? Despite his lack of trust in you, despite the fact he was so eager to believe my story about poor little Donovan and your wrench. You are unbelievable, Stiles. So naive, so idiotically stupid.'

Stiles moves forward so quickly Theo doesn't even realize his fist connects with this cheek after they collide. The following second, Theo is on the ground, receiving Stiles' blows to his face for the second time in a few days. And just like the first time, he relishes the anger raging inside the teenager. He had felt it yesterday too, right before Stiles banged his head on the staircase.

'Go ahead,' the Chimera laughs without defending himself, 'go ahead and get our anger out, Stiles. Get your revenge, come on. I left your dad to die and killed your so-called best friend. I took the brain and senses out of Lydia. Just hit me until you're satisfied. But we both know that Scott deserved it, don't we? After all, he was so trustworthy, so eager to believe me, it was almost pathetically easy.'

'You're a bastard,' Stiles hisses, kneeling over Theo as he holds him down, his hands itching to end the enemy's life forever. He wants to choke the life right out of him for one single moment, only to realize at the exact same moment this is exactly what Theo wants. He wants Void and that's what he's giving him.

Shocked, Stiles lets go, staring at his shaking hands. He doesn't feel well, nausea building up inside of him so rapidly, he knows he's about to throw it all up. The back of his head is throbbing, he feels blood sticking in his hair, gluing them together. Exhausted he moves back, leaving Theo on the floor as he stares at his hands.

He hears Scott stir behind him, which calms him down immediately.

'Come on, Stiles, you disappoint me,' Theo remarks amused. 'This isn't want I came to get from you, but I'm so glad you've proven to me over and over again that you are in fact, darker than you allow yourself to believe. You're making progress, you're getting to know the dark side of yourself. Congratulations!'

'Fuck you, Theo.' Stiles tiredly stammers away from him, not releasing his eyes off of him, while at the same time making sure he can watch Scott, who is trying to open his eyes. 'Get out and take your hate with you. That's why you will never get what you want, you see? We don't hate, we love, even if you tried to take that all away from us. We are a pack until we all die, no matter what you say or do to us. You'll never, ever win.'

'Won't I?' Theo smiles amused, pointing at Scott. 'Why do you think he's not healing?'

'There's something about you that hurt him more than others before you,' Stiles says. 'Some sort of failed Chimera feature that you haven't told us about yet. Because that's wat you are, isn't it? You're a Chimera, just like all the others. That's why you walked through the mountain ash without a hesitation. You were never a werewolf, you're a failed mixture of medical illusions, a creation by scientists who wanted you to exist when you were already dying.'

Theo remains quiet as he listens to Stiles' comments.

'That's it, isn't it?' Stiles' eyes lift, realizing he's spot on while he studies Theo's facial expression. 'That's what hurts you the most. You came here looking for a pack, but you never said you also came searching for friends. You're so pathetically jealous of what we have, you'd rather kill every single one of us in order to prevent us from having it too. You wanted a pack, consisting of our dark sides, the Kitsune, the Banshee and the Void. You wanted Scott's inheritance, but you made a big mistake. Scott wants the humans, not the darkness. And if you kill him, you might as well kill us all. We would all die for him.'

Stiles closes his eyes for a moment, fighting the fatigue and that damned splitting headache. He sees blurry, knows that he won't be able to fight off Theo if the Chimera decides to attack. He'd make minced meat of them both.

Theo's eyes light up for the second time. 'Would you, Stiles? Die for him?'

'Yeah, I would,' Stiles says without hesitation.

Theo smiles suddenly, staring at Scott who lies on the couch with open eyes, lifting his body up as he listens quietly to what Stiles is saying.

'Good,' Theo says, 'because if you stay with him, you _will_ die. In fact, all of you will. There will be no exceptions to the rule, once this thing the Dread Doctors created sees the light of day.'

'Then I'll die fighting.' Stiles lifts his head up, moving towards Theo. 'And I will kill you with my bare hands if you ever even lay a finger on him again. You won't get a second chance.'

Theo smiles. 'I won't need it. Someone else will do it for me.'

The Chimera turns to see Melissa standing behind him, her hands balled, just like Stiles'. 'I'll be going now. By the way, just so you know, your alpha is keeping himself hurt because his guilt is eating him alive. Get the pack back, and he'll get his health back. Just as easy as a finger snap.'

Theo moves past Melissa and nods quietly at her, leaving their house the same way he came in. On shaking legs Stiles turns towards Scott who is sitting upright on the couch, staring at him with big eyes. Then Stiles slides down on the couch until he sits next to him, his head throbbing and his entire body shaking of fear and anger.'

'Damn, dude,' Scott whispers in awe. 'That was great!'

'Was it?' Stiles mutters, 'I hadn't noticed.'

Melissa approaches the two of them, her son and his surrogate brother, both sitting on the same couch for the first time in weeks. Two exhausted faces gaze up at her. Two sets of eyes that betray their eagerness to become friends again.

And yet, now that she's here to take care of her son, Stiles stands up, grabs his jacket and whispers he has to go. Now that the moment has passed, he is aware of his still lingering anger. Theo is right about that, he is a vat full of anger and upset.

'Stiles, don't go.' Scott's voice pleads with him as he grabs his wrist. The next moment, Stiles is down on the ground for the second time that evening, closing his eyes even before he hits the rug nestled right before the couch.

The last thing he hears, are their frantic voices.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all of your comments! I wrote this story as a favor to a reader, but love doing fill in the blanks. If you have a request, don't hesitate to let me know ;)

**Chapter Five**

Stiles wakes up lying on the comfortable bed in the spare room, staring confused at the ceiling. He's lying in the dark, as Melissa has closed the blinds to make sure he received some proper rest. He knows it's well beyond morning, properly well beyond noon too.

As he slowly regains consciousness, he feels dazed. He sits up gently, touching the back of his head gingerly. Then he realizes all of a sudden he's not the only one on the bed. Scott lies on his side, face in his direction, eyes wide open.

'God, you nearly gave me a heart attack,' Stiles exhales, watching his friend who obviously feels much better. The flush on his face has faded, he doesn't radiate so much heat anymore. 'What the hell are you doing in the same bed as me?'

'Making sure you kept on breathing,' Scott says, to Stiles' surprise.

'Of course I'm still breathing, what the hell are you talking about?'

'You hit your head three times in less than twenty-four hours,' Scott quietly explains, 'you have a concussion, but it could have been a lot worse. And since you'd freak out if mom would have taken you back to the hospital, we decided to keep you here and monitor your breathing.'

'I see,' Stiles mutters, grasping what Scott has just said. 'But you can tell I'm okay, alive and well. I'd like to go to the hospital now, to see my dad.'

'Mom knew you were going to say that, so she stayed here until you would wake up,' Scott smiles. 'Come on, I'll make you some toast.'

'I'm not hungry.'

'You never are,' Scott retorts, 'but don't think that we haven't noticed you haven't eaten anything in three days. So this is the deal: You eat, then you prove you are well enough to go to the hospital and then mom will take you.'

Stiles gently puts his feet on the rug, stretching his back as he slips off the bed. 'Who died and made you my dad? Besides, you're sick yourself.'

'The wound is improving.'

'What?' Stiles flips around, happily surprised. 'You're kidding?'

'No, I'm not. Mom redid the bandages today because you're such a lousy nurse and it wasn't as bad as it was last night. Whatever you did, it was magic,' Scott smiles.

'But I didn't do anything.'

Scott stands up, facing his friend as he gently comes forward, watching Stiles twitch his fingers. 'Yes, you did, Stiles. What you said, what you did last night, how you defended me against Theo, it was fantastic. You were the first one in my pack, and you are the strongest person I have in there.'

'But I'm just human,' Stiles stutters shyly.

'That's what makes you the strongest one of all,' Scott smiles. 'Don't you see? You have the most to lose, and yet you are always there.' Scott extends his hand, offering a truce they both crave so much. 'I just want things to go back to the way they were,' he whispers. 'I want to be forgiven. I want to help make things right. I think that Theo is right when he says that this will help us all. It will help me heal too, somehow. Perhaps it will heal us all.'

Stiles looks at Scott's hand, eager to grab it. But he can't, not yet. Scott hasn't said the words out loud yet, the ones he's been waiting for, for so long. He wants to hear Scott say he believes him and so far he hasn't done that.

But it's not just Scott. Stiles knows he needs to speak with his dad first, tell him the truth about Donovan. He needs to tell him how he felt at the moment of his death, of the darkest fears he has lingering within. He needs to tell his dad that he is so scared that Theo is right. There is a certain darkness inside of him, one that terrifies him.

He looks up at Scott, seeing the disappointment in his friend's eyes when he doesn't accept the handshake. But then Stiles suddenly takes him in his arms, holds him tight and pats him on the back. Even though he still struggles with it all, he knows they're very slowly getting there.

'Thank you,' Stiles whispers hoarsely.

Then he leaves the bedroom and Scott behind as he exists the house on foot before Melissa or Scott even notice, taking in the fresh air and sunshine, enjoying its warmth for a few brief moments. Slowly he makes his way to the hospital, listening to the buzzing sounds of Beacon Hills as he squints his eyes against the sunlight.

As he finally walks in through the sliding doors of the hospital, evening is rapidly chasing the sun. Stiles goes straight into his father's room and finds him asleep, safe and sound. Tiredly Stiles takes a seat and closes his eyes, allowing the stress of the past few days to fall off him. The last thing he thinks about, is Scott. And he knows that things will work out soon, after he has told his father the truth.

That, is the first thing he'll do.

And then, just maybe, he'll start to learn how to deal with the darkness.

The End


End file.
